


Legacy II: Rift

by SynnoveD



Series: Legacy [2]
Category: Final Fantasy VIII
Genre: F/M, Gen, Multi, Other, POV Multiple
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-27
Updated: 2016-03-04
Packaged: 2018-05-23 11:59:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6115774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SynnoveD/pseuds/SynnoveD
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A promise is kept and Syndicate throws the world spiraling into a turmoil of chaos and war. In the midst of it all an Empyral is forced to decide at what cost do they pay to save those most dear to them. What the world knew is now forever changed as everyone fights for their chance to mobilize and survive the impending apocalypse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Split Decision

It was all she could to do not stare at the blood on her heel. She knew she needed to take notes but she couldn't pull herself from looking away. She would look up and see the words, "Interim Commander, Temporary Leave, Suspension, Nepotism" and then she'd look back down at the blood spot, curious as to whose blood it was.

Another glance and she saw words like, "Monster, Creature, Evil, Execute." Her hand would scribble down the notes and then those eyes of hers would drift back off to the blood spot.

"Quistis?"

"Hm?" Quistis looked up, crossing her leg to hide the blood.

"Did you catch all of that?"

Any other time she would've had no problem focusing.

"Uh…" She reviewed her notes. "Yes. The Unified Council is appointing me as Interim Commander as I am still technically the Executive Assistant to Squall Leonhart. You are now voting on what to do with Seifer Almasy." Her hand felt shaky. "Um…"

The doors to Squall's office opened and Quistis' heart jumped. Artos walked in alone, his hands clasped together as he looked to the council with cold eyes, eyes of a trained killer but eyes that the Council trusted.

"This is Council Business, Artos!" Rupert stood.

"I know, I am very aware but I have something I need addressed to the Council."

"Speak." Laguna leaned against Squall's desk, his head hung low. Laguna had said very little since the attack.

Artos bowed to the council members. "I am regretfully… the father of a man who lost his mind. I understand how you all must still be in shock."

"Your kids a freak, Artos. And an Empyral freak at that. An unnatural monster. Best you kill it and be done with it." Dollet Councilor Eliza Peylt stood, her usual calm and refined demeanor completely vanished once away from the public eye. She brushed a manicured hand through her short red hair.

"The Almasy name is a name that we hide from public because of our shame. My son and I use my late wife's name because of it. We're cursed."

"A what?" Rupert was unamused.

"A curse. It's something that happens every number of generation or so. It' s a darkness, a wickedness that manifests these… horrible nightmares. They were awakened when Seifer was placed in the Project Guardian and it has apparently taken hold of him. Hyne, forgive us."

_But wasn't it… wait…_

Quistis looked around the room. Everyone's attentions had seemed to follow Artos as he waked around. "This curse can be…well, simply put it's a form of purging. We can help Seifer, but you must let us."

"How?" Laguna was the first to break the silence.

"Our research development team has been working with my family's history to initiate a form of corrective therapy. I believe we have found a way to purge and reverse the effects of Project Guardian.

"This is Seifer's DNA, you can't just…" Quistis looked up, watching as everyone stared at her. She closed her mouth, looking back to her notes.

Laguna sighed, folding his arms as he held his chin. "We can't call him a person any longer. We can't really call him anything–"

_Human being…Empyral or not, Seifer is still a human being._

"Vile." Caraway spoke briefly.

_A living person. A real, breathing person._

"Creature." Eliza added.

_Seifer has emotion, consciousness, intelligence. He is not a vile creature..._

"That is something all of us can agree on. If he isn't a person, he doesn't have rights like we do. He is…has, become property."

"Property to Garden or to the Unified Council?"

"I have the means and abilities to cure this with the help of Esthar's tech from Odine's research." Artos folded his hands like a prayer. "The opportunity this gives us means that I will not only be able to purge the darkness from my son Seifer, but I can also have the chance to finally rid this from my bloodline so future lives, Ellone and our granddaughter don't have to face this." Artos had gained the attention of Laguna, playing up to his family. "All things aside, I will need to take this boy from this place. He can be taken to a remote location, out of public view, fully and safely contained."

Quistis sat with her mouth open. She watched as the Council was so willingly giving this lunatic some consideration. There was a time when Quistis had greatly held the utmost respect for these people and now they were playing into this madman's request. She slapped her pen to the notebook, staring daggers into Laguna.

"You're not really –"

Laguna turned to her, a hand up. "Quistis, Seifer died the moment that Creswell and his researchers injected that poison into his body. He was pronounced dead shortly after, remember? We were willing to absolve Seifer's past crimes and history with Caraway but this is not Seifer any longer.

"This man is insane. Do you realize that he's completely behind all of this?" Quistis pointed her hand to Artos. "Seifer… Seifer is good. He is a person – a real, living, breathing person – a human being! He was trying to stop the attack! Syndicate!" Her legs bolted her upright. "This man is behind Syndicate!" She turned to Caraway. "Are we not even going to address that it was Fury Caraway who got Seifer arrested? How he LIED just to get Seifer sent to D-District?! It was under Caraway's orders that Seifer become entered into the research project – gee, I wonder where they got that idea!" She threw her hands to Artos, the only sound in the room was the pen rolling across the floor and hitting the leg of the desk.

"This is why it's difficult for women to be in position's of power." Eliza's words betrayed Quistis. "You are far too emotional, Ms. Trepe. Take your seat and be silent."

Artos turned to the rest of the Council. "I can assume that it's very clear I have nothing to do with Syndicate. It was my funding after all that helped us take down the Syndicate Cells last fall."

Quistis wanted to scream. She turned to the one man who always listened to her, the one man she knew she could trust in this room. "Laguna…"

"Councilor Laguna." Caraway corrected.

Laguna turned to her with sad eyes, standing and approaching her. His hands moved to her shoulders in a gentle, calming fashion. "Quistis –"

"It's very clear that Seifer is unstable. He tried to kill me thinking it would be so easy for him to walk in and take back 'his' G-Forces. Seeing Ellone must have triggered a form of his madness. That would explain why he tried to kill her again." Caraway was wrong. All of them were wrong, Quistis kept hearing her voice tell her over and over in her mind.

"What do we need to do, Artos?" Rupert stepped forward, "What is it that you will need from us?"

Always so calm and gracious, Artos smiled. "The transferring of ownership of property is a simple procedure. I will file for it immediately. Seifer will be well cared for, well managed and when he is able to prove to us that he is of sound mind and body, we can work on reintegrating him with society. This will take several years, but I am very confident that we can do it." Artos sighed, "I only just reconnected with my son for the first time in twenty-three years, I will never lose him again." His eyes turned to Laguna, knowing Laguna's emotions would bring him to think of his own son. "If this were your son, wouldn't you want the best for him? If I had known all this time that Seifer was my child, I would have stopped this years ago."

"A father knows best when it comes to the well being of their children." Caraway cleared his throat, raising his hand. "I vote Aye."

Eliza sighed, uncrossing her legs and straightening out what was left of her green satin gown. "I vote 'Aye.' Maybe when it's all said and done this is for the best." She raised her hand. "At least we'll get him out of the public eye."

Rupert ran his hands through his greying blonde hair, straightening his glasses. "I made the mistake of permitting this creature to roam free in the hands of Garden. While it is not my fault that he was given such a wide leash, I was responsible for passing the reins over to a boy who proved to us once before that he couldn't handle the task." He raised his hand. "Aye."

All eyes landed to Laguna who continued to look at Quistis. His heart seemed to have been broken and shattered into pieces. He looked weary, tired, old. He sighed, giving Quistis a slight nod.

"Aye."

_How could you? How could all of you?_

Quistis shook her head, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Now, if I may, this is a very serious PR disaster. We need to figure out what's going to go on record as our official statement."

"I've already come up with a solution. We need to go public with the knowledge of Project Guardian. It's going to sting for Galbadia, but I bet that we can find a way to pin it to Syndicate. By doing so, Galbadia surrendered my son over to Garden _and_ the UC's care but being exposed to the recent events triggered his mind to go into a sort of fugue state, and it was only exacerbated by the effects of Project Guardian. We have so far zero deaths on record, with the exception of Syndicate Empyrals. This is looking to be very good for us."

Quistis wanted to vomit. This wasn't good. None of this was good.

"And what of the assassin? Or what about the junctioned freaks who showed up?"

"That's easy. Syndicate assassins and a small group of Anti-GF Resistance Activists. They will not be characterized as something that will appear again."

"Good, you've really thought this through."

All Quistis could remember was the way Nino shifted, changed. She could remember the way Seifer risked killing Nino for all of them. She remembered the terror in Squall's eyes as he held Alisa. And the Empyrals. Their strength was limitless…

"Artos, you're a good man. I trust you will do the best for your children."

"This is…bullshit." Quistis forced the word out like a bitter taste.

"Quistis." Laguna turned to her, almost offended that she swore at him.

She looked around the room. "This is BULLSHIT!" Her voice carried in the office. "Are you all insane?!" It was like the room was spinning around her.

"Quistis, that's enough!"

"NO! He _idolized_ you! Seifer wanted to BE you! Remember? The movie about the Sorceress Knight?" She was running out of breath. "Does that sound like a man who wanted to save lives rather than try to destroy them?!"

"Executive Trepe, if you don't settle down…"

"And you!" Quistis turned to Artos, pointing a long finger. "You did all of this to him… he's never had a chance. Knowing what I know, you did what you did with the INTENT of hurting him!"

Artos put his head down, wiping his eyes with a red handkerchief. "You're right…you're right I did…"

_Finally…_

"Say it. Admit it."

He looked up, red in the eyes. "I did this to my son. If only he had a different father. He wouldn't be cursed with this… this… darkness!"

Quistis trembled, her jaw on the floor as she stood with her hand out. "Goddamnit NO! You actually did this to him!"

"EXECUTIVE QUISTIS!" Caraway charged toward her, taking her arm and shoving her in her seat. "SIT DOWN OR BE THROWN OUT!"

Quistis shuddered, looking up at Caraway in hatred. She tried to speak, unable to find the words. Where could she even begin? The moment his back was turned she stood back up again. "You are all morons."

"Get out." Laguna pointed to the doors.

_Laguna._

She looked to him, the man she admired. "Sir –"

Quistis felt Laguna take her arm, leading her to the doors of Squall's office. She stumbled, her body shook from her nerves. She gasped when she felt the whoosh of the air when the door closed and locked.

_Squall. Squall is still a council member._

She tripped into Ryzia's desk, the heel of her shoe broke. The one with the blood drop. "UGH!" She flung the shoe of her foot and hurled it into her empty desk. She lifted the other, watching it bounce and shoot off against the filing cabinet. She turned and saw an Operative approaching from beside Squall's door. "Don't even think about it…" It was a bad night and it wasn't clear to Quistis how much more she could take.

_Sure, Squall! Let me help you with the Summit. Totally take advantage of my good graces after this massive scare from Seifer breaking out. Oh and of course I'll cancel my transfer so I can do this for you while you work out your issues with Rinoa directly after sleeping together. TWICE. That's exactly what I needed. Sure, Squall! Let me stand in as interim-commander, not like I get any say in anything because apparently if you have tits you can't muster an intelligent conversation. That's why Eliza's on the council. Her and her flat-chested, silicone implanted stupid lip injection having ugh!_

"We are standing here in the Main Lobby of Balamb Garden where we have just confirmed of a new species of being has emerged. They call themselves Empyrals..."

She stormed to the Infirmary barefoot. Her feet helped her as she dodged lingering Summit members wandering around aimlessly they stood around in the main lobby, giving their accounts to journalists. Photographers flashed at her as she pushed by.

"Executive Trepe! Is there any reason why you aren't dressed appropriately for the party? Were you aware of the attack ahead of time?"

_Dressed appropriately? Oh the gown…_

Quistis looked down to her black leather leggings and plated orange top. She continued to walk.

"Rumors were that Seifer Almasy had triggered a sleeper agent – what can you tell us?"

"Is Seifer Almasy dead? We heard reports that Squall Leonhart stabbed him in the heart."

"Executive, will you please answer something for us?"

"Trepe! Is it true that Garden is in bed with Syndicate?!"

"Executive Quistis Trepe! Can we get a statement about you becoming Interim-Commander?"

She stopped, that was something she could answer. She cleared her throat and spoke clearly, professionally. "The Unified Council has yet to issue an official statement, I will not be able to comment until they do. We are trying to piece together the events of tonight, please be patient with us here with the SeeD Collective and with the Council."

Operatives allowed her to pass through, away from the questions and flashes of lights. She had to have looked an absolute wreck.

She had to use her badge to get past the Operatives, the ones she had grown up with that knew her well enough to call her by her first name. Another group of Operatives blocked her path. Unified Council's Omega Force granted her clearance and she pushed past, hurrying down the hall. As she pocketed her ID, her eyes found the back of Irvine's head as he walked past a window. She started to sprint, pushing inside.

"FULL CODE!"

Several had been injured in the thick of it all. They were thankful there had been no deaths but she breathed in the scent of burnt flesh and nearly gagged. So many had been severely injured. She watched as Tomé motioned for her interns into a room. Quistis stepped inside, looking to the man in the bed. "Do you need help?" She watched the monitor as it continued to flatline. Tomé whipped her head to Quistis, motioning for her to leave. Her hands were hurried but steady hands were starting compressions. She was good, calm under pressure.

"Quistis? Quistis. Quistis!" A voice kept calling her name. She spun around to see Selphie waving her down in her cowgirl boots and blood soaked romper.

"Selphie, Irvine." She hugged them both, relieved to find that they had both survived. "They are taking Seifer away."

"Of course they are, they think he's a criminal." Irvine frowned, folding his arms.

"So, what's the next step?" She didn't take any time. They needed to stop Artos and Torrin. "You guys! What are we going to do next?"

"We grieve." Irvine looked to the window, pulling his hat and placing it on his chest.

Quistis turned, looking inside of the Infirmary room where Ellone first learned she was having a baby. Inside she was stable but unconscious, tubes and a breathing machine helped her breathe. Squall held her hand tight, holding it to his mouth as he mouthed the word 'please' over and over. His hair covered his eyes but Quistis could see his bottom lashes were soaked in tears. He blinked and they fell. Kiros knelt beside the bed, his hand on Ellone's forehead as he prayed.

"There was too much trauma." Selphie spoke quietly. "Seifer…"

_Seifer wouldn't have._

"Seifer hit her. It could have been a complete accident but we can't be sure. He ended up nicking me a few times so it's possible…but–" Irvine's eyes were worried as he turned to Quistis.

"That's… no… that can't be right." Quistis shook her head.

"We were all in there when he found out it was a little girl, Quistis." Selphie sighed, looking to Irvine. "Remember how upset he was? It just kinda fits."

"Where was Torrin? Or Artos? Where _is_ Torrin?!"

"I found her alone. We haven't seen Torrin since it all went down." Irvine leaned against the window, unable to watch Squall anymore. "He hasn't come in to check on Ellone at all."

"Yeah, because he's a psycho." Selphie put her hands on her hips, looking down the hall.

"They're taking him. Seifer. Artos and Torrin are. They're taking Seifer to some kind of Research Lab." Quistis put a hand to the window, wanting and wishing comfort for Squall and Kiros.

"That's… not good." Selphie looked to Irvine. "Now would be a great time for Zell to wake up and tell us some crazy story about a Research Base he read about online…"

Quistis looked around, realizing that they were a party member short. "Where _is_ Zell?"

"He was attacked and knocked out. They took him the same time that Ellone was brought out of there. Didn't he say something about a research base during our first meeting about Syndicate?" Selphie started to walk down to Zell's room. "Like, something about junctioning was mentioned… it was right before Squall blew up at us."

"Yes, actually." Quistis followed Selphie, watching as the doctor pushed in a cocktail of drugs in Zell's body.

"They were extracting magic essence and injecting it into their bodies. Actually, that was the first trial stages. Junctioning came after."

Everyone turned to see Tomé sitting at her desk, eating crisps as she updated medical information on the computer.

Irvine broke the silence. "He told you?"

"It was a long trip back from Winhill when we brought him home." She munched loudly on her chips. "It stuck with me because it was my mother who had to store the body for G-Forces to come and collect it." She took another bite. "Zell's a lot smarter than all of you put together most days, he just doesn't know how to express it. He had all of this figured out long before any of us." Tomé stood, dusting off her hands and pulling her hair back into a long ponytail. "Could it be possible that they plan to try and extract the Guardian from Seifer?"

"What would they do with it? Put it in someone else?" Selphie looked to Quistis, chewing on her nails.

_Oh no…_

Quistis remembered seeing the purple sparks that passed between Torrin's hands. During the fight she thought she had seen the same thing when Zell was confronting him.

"Lightning flowers." Quistis walked inside Zell's room, pulling down the collar of his hospital gown.

"Woah! What are you doing?" Selphie, ever the curious one followed Quistis and rushed up across from her.

She could barely see it from the tightness of the collar. Quistis yanked the blankets down to his hips and lifted the gown. Her hands drifted over Zell's tanned skin. Her fingers just barely tracing the purple branching burns traveling up his abdomen and chest from the effects of an electrical current. The burns forked out like trees or…

"Flowers." Selphie lowered her eyebrows, leaning down as well.

"Man…" Irvine sucked on his lower lip, holding his hat on his head. "Don't I wish that I had two women who–"

"Inappropriate right now, Irv." Tomé brushed past, bringing in a new bag of saline.

Irvine crossed his arms, leaning in the door to pout. "It was gonna be too easy anyway. So why are we hungrily looking over Zell like he's a piece of meat?"

"Because when you don't block for a lightning attack, these temporary burns appear. A real lightning strike will make these permanent but when magic is cast…"

"Or a GF…" Selphie added. "A Human-GF hybrid…"

"Like the Empyrals?" Irvine scratched the back of his head. "So, like, Seifer couldn't have. He's never cast magic before. Just his black matter stuff."

Quistis covered Zell back up and brushed the strands of blonde hair from his forehead. "Like the Empyrals." She turned to Tomé. "We need to Zell to wake up."

"That's entirely up to Zell when he wants to do that." Tomé was linking the bag to his IV as she spoke. "I'm not sure when that will be but let's let him rest so his body can heal." She gestured for everyone to leave, closing the door.

"I get the feeling that they are going to extract the GF data from Seifer's body. If Torrin is able to summon electrical currents, imagine what he can do with Seifer's power?"

_It would be like giving a stable bomb to someone who would happily nuke the world…_

"We need to do something!" Selphie had a glint in her eyes that neither Quistis or Irvine had seen in a while. Quistis knew of it. She felt the urge to fight just as much as Selphie did. The blonde smiled as she gave Selphie a nod, putting her hands on her hips.

They watched the door to Ellone's room open. They looked down to see Squall's black oxfords shamble out into the hall. Grief consumed him entirely. He lifted his head, his cheeks were red, eyes puffy. They waited for their Commander to speak, only to watch him as he shuffled past.

"Squall…" Quistis stood at attention, realizing she left her notes in his office.

"I'm sorry, brother." Irvine removed his hat in respect, lowering his head as Squall walked past.

"Squall, the UC has decided to take Seifer away. His father's –"

"Good." Squall looked as if grief and sadness was going to pull him down at any second. He refused to look at any of them. He stopped for a moment, "Maybe they should just execute him. Do us all a favor... do the whole world a favor."

"Squall…" Selphie gasped. "You don't mean that…"

"Whatever." Squall turned his head, his eyes dancing on the floor. "Y–Maybe, maybe he's not meant to be on this world. He's a monster. Horrible person…" They watched his eyes move to the ceiling. "Not even a person..."

"Hey…" Selphie put a hand on his shoulder. "They can't all be that bad... I mean – look at Seifer. He's one of the good ones –"

Squall shoved her backwards into Irvine. "FUCK SEIFER. He's the worst one of them all!" His voice cracked and bounced off the walls. His hands moved to his SeeD jacket, ripping it off and slamming it to the floor. "You know what? I'm done–I'M FUCKING DONE." He kicked the jacket, took a few steps and stopped, looking at the physicians and summit attendees watching him. "Let him die. In fact, I want them to do it. Slowly. Painfully. And I…" Squall held his arms out, turning. "I don't give a _fuck_ what any of you think. Fuck you all for ever caring about that _monster._ "

Quistis, Irvine and Selphie stood frozen. They weren't sure how to react, what to do or say if anything at all. They held their breaths, afraid. None of them had ever heard Squall break down in this way.

He chuckled, throwing a hand around the room. "Do you not get it now!? Do you not understand why we should have just left him where he was?!" Squall shook his head, tears falling as he turned, shambling out of the exit. "I'm going to go be with my family... I never want to hear anyone mention his name to me again. Seifer Almasy is dead to me."


	2. These Strange Predilections

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adult Content Warning

Zell opened his eyes, his hand going to his face as he groaned. He looked around, he was in his room. "How did I get here?" The morning light that shone through seemed to make everything glow. Birds were chirping, colors seemed amplified to him.

He heard a sound and sat up as Selphie walked in wearing a yellow summer dress, her face beaming. "Zell! I'm so glad you're awake!" She leapt on the bed, wrapping her arms around his neck. He fell back with a grunt, her irrational perkiness almost scared him.

"Selphie?" He patted her back, looking around curiously. "What happened? I don't remember how I got in here…" Zell felt her arms release as she sat on his legs, grinning from ear to ear.

"It's all okay! You saved us!"

"I did?"

"Mmhm! You did. I've never seen you fight so well!" She took his hand, playing with his fingers.

"You haven't?"

"Tee-hee, Nope."

Zell raised a half-cocked smile, feeling impressed with himself.

"You know what else?"

Zell smiled, "What?"

"I still owe you…" Selphie slipped a finger into her mouth, sucking on hit gently.

Zell recoiled, unable to get his hand away from Selphie as he repositioned. "Wait, wait, wait…!" She stopped, her green eyes looking into his. Selphie slowly pulled out his finger and leaned forward to kiss him, suckling on his lower lip.

"S-Selphie…" He pushed her back, "What are you doing? I need to find Seifer, Squall and Nino and everyone–"

"I'm here." Nino turned the corner into his bedroom. She wore a white summer dress, flowy, she tilted her head and smiled at Selphie.

Zell was in a complete stupor. He watched as Selphie stood, dancing toward Nino. "Um…okay, so is this some kind of – woah." Zell's jaw dropped to the mattress as he watched as Selphie brushed the hair behind Nino, kissing her deeply, her tongue gently lapping at Selphie's. Hands moved all over, exploring each others bodies. Two girls at once was normally a turn-on for Zell but when Nino looked over at Zell, her green eyes sparkling in the morning light he felt strangely uncomfortable. It felt wrong, disturbingly wrong. She smiled, pulling away from Selphie and whispering in her ear. Selphie giggled, hands to her face as she turned around, Nino following closely behind.

"Zell?" Selphie put a finger to her lips, kicking her foot in the air.

"Selphie?"

"Um…remember when I said I had a girlfriend?" Selphie moaned when Nino's hands moved up her thighs, disappearing under the skirt of the dress. It was like a game to them, tormenting Zell.

Zell's muscles tensed as he watched Selphie slip off her dress, baring naked skin and the perkiest breasts he had ever seen. "Oh uh," He swallowed hard. "S-so Nino's your girlfriend?"

"No, chicken-wuss. Nino's _my_ girlfriend."

Zell's head whipped to the chair beside his bed. Seifer. Dressed in Zell's depressing black sweater with the thumb holes poked through and grey slacks. The taller blonde leaned forward, tenting his fingers. "You're having dreams about my girlfriend, pal?" Seifer's eyebrow cocked up in the way that he used to when he was irritated or curious, giving him a look that made him seem insane. The expression was intensified when the corner of Seifer's lips began to stretch into a smile.

"No! She's just a friend, I promise! I don't even know what's happening! This…AH!" He felt Selphie's mouth on his sex as she slinked underneath the sheets. She wasted no time on him, his body had a difficult time resisting her. "This is a dream right? Isn't it?!"

"Does it feel like a dream?" Nino pushed him back down onto the bed and turned to Seifer.

Zell watched as Seifer winked at her as she crawled into the bed beside Zell. She peeked underneath the sheet, nodding in approval. The gesture made Zell shout, snatching the covers from her hand. Seifer kissed the air in her direction and moved his attentions back to Zell.

"This can't be happening..." Zell turned to Nino, watching as she rested her elbow on the bed, looking at him with a wide grin. In her hands she held a sweet roll, tearing off small bites and popping them into her mouth. "Seriously..." He could hear Selphie giggling between her moans, feeling their hands running all over his body as her head bobbed up and down. Zell reached out and could feel her under there. He found himself blocking Nino and Seifer out, starting to work his way into a full erection. He let out a moan that desperately fought to be released. "Oh fuck that feels amazing..."

The sounds of Nino chewing threw him back to her focus. "Mmm... I think this is my new favorite food...here, eat this." Nino spoke between bites before shoving a roll into Zell's mouth. The sugar glaze made his teeth almost hurt. He glared to Nino, watching as her looked him in the eye with a look of innocence. "What?"

"I guess it's fine that you're in here? B-but... it's uh… uh, it's just so awkward…with..." He cocked his head over to Seifer who let out a silent chuckle, clearly finding this situation absolutely hilarious. He held his mouth open, shaking his head as his body shook. Zell watched Nino look to Seifer and back at Zell shrugging.

"Oh, that? No big deal...it's just a blowjob!" Nino tore off another bite, shoving it into Zell's mouth. It used to be a fantasy of his, having two girls in his bed. Maybe back when Nino was a teenager he felt some kind of attraction to her but the thought of her in his bed so calm and collected as he fed him sweet rolls intimidated him, scared him. He was always into the nice, sweet and innocent girls, like Selphie…who turned out not to be such a nice, innocent girl but a girl he was slowly falling into really liking. His hand drifted to the sheet, lifting it to get a view of Selphie. Zell let out a shy moan, the pleasure was shooting electricity down his legs, making his toes curl.

"Way to go, Selphie! Um, wow, how is she not gagging?" Nino leaned over, sneaking a peek. "Seifer, do you remember when I tried to do that?"

Seifer leaned over and Zell could smell his cologne. Seifer was looking down and laughing. "Oh yeah – that was painful." He looked to Zell. "I mean sure, a little gag reflex was a nice boost to the ego but I still get a bit weary with teeth..."

"Teeth... Wait – BOTH OF YOU!" Zell slammed the sheet down, glaring. "The fuck are you doing here?!" Nino lifted the sheet on her side and Zell slammed it down. "That is _not_ for you to see!" The more he stared at her the more creeped out he started to feel.

"Calm down, I wasn't even looking at... you know... _you._ " Nino rolled her eyes as she pressed her back to the wall, folding an arm as she sucked the last of the sticky glaze off her fingers.

"Hey... Zell." Seifer curled his lips inward and cocked his head to the side.

Zell swallowed the sweet roll bites in his mouth, felt his cheeks red, flushed. He peeked back underneath the covers. Selphie was speeding up, her hands working their magic with a wet, slippery twisting motion.

"Zell!"

Everything felt so mind blowingly amazing for him… with the exception of Seifer Almasy staring him down, calling out his name in that commanding way that he did. He needed that like a gun to his head. Zell groaned both in frustration and pleasure, whining as he pulled his gaze away from the moaning green-eyed goddess on his dick. "Dude. You're killing me here!"

"I need a favor." He leaned back, stretching his arms around the back of the chair, crossing his leg.

"Uhh…" He exhaled through tight lips, he was feeling like he was going to explode. "I need to get off, can you just tell me so I can finish already?" Zell gasped, lurching forward. The sensations were mind-numbing. A low moan left his mouth as he arched his back, rocking his hips. He'd fuck Seifer at this point if it made him go away. He just needed to…

Seifer sucked his teeth. "Well, see – that's the thing, I need you to wake up for me, pal."

Zell looked over, Nino was gone, vanished completely. "Huh? How did she do that?" Zell stole peek as Selphie's hands trailed all over his body, grabbing his attention. He could see her head bob faster under the blue sheets. The moans coming from beneath the sheets were enough to send him over the edge. The only thing stopping him from shooting his load into Selphie's mouth was Seifer. Seifer and the stare that made Zell's teeth grit. "Wh–What?! What. Do. You. WANT?!"

Seifer leaned in again, taking in a breath. Everything was always so up close and personal with Seifer, no concept of personal space. "WAKE UP!"

–

Zell opened his eyes, the first thing he felt was intense pain all through his chest and stomach. He swallowed, trying to piece together where he was. He looked at the stark white ceiling, the rectangular light overhead. The sunlight illuminated the room but not like the dream he had. He heard the sound of thunder.

He released a low, throaty moan as he tried to lift his head. His muscles felt like they were on fire. Looking over he saw the call button on the bed. Using all of his energy he reached over, trying to reach the box. It slipped, clattering on the floor.

"Fuck." He groaned, swallowing again. He was so thirsty.

The sound of footsteps rapidly approaching caused him to roll his eyes to the door. He was in the Infirmary and Selphie bounded in. "Zell's awake…" She immediately ran back out. He could hear her down the hall. "He's awaaaaake!"

_Please don't jump on me right now. I hurt. Everywhere. Fuck my life. Why does this happen to me?_

Tomé stepped inside, leaning over Zell. "Hey, fella. How are you feeling?"

"Ow. I really need to piss… but I can't move." It was all he could get out, still groggy from being out for however long he was. He reached up to scratch his face, only feeling about a few days worth of stubble.

Tomé smiled, "I'll give you something for pain. Do you want to sit up?" Once he nodded she pressed a button, lifting the bed and putting a hand to his chest. He coughed, yelling out from the hurt.

"Here." Tomé put a straw to his lips. "It's just water."

"Don't care…mmm." He sucked it down, letting out a sigh. His head reeled back when he felt the wash of the pain meds being administered. "Oh Hyne, that's better… Oh I love you Tomé." He smiled, letting out a sigh as he felt his body's pain go from a 10 to a 4. Tomé smiled, touching his shoulder. "I'm really glad to see you too." As she walked out, calm and collected as she usually was. It wasn't long before the sound of a stampede ran down the hall and a barrage of people came storming in.

"Zell!" Irvine was the first to come in, then Quistis and Selphie last. All of them screamed at him. Quistis appeared to be explaining that she was Inter-something, Irvine was talking about the night they fought the Empyrals, Selphie was talking about some one leaving. Tomé came in to add to the chorus with telling them to be quieter.

"We've been waiting for you to wake up so we can…"

"…been taking turns standing watch 24/7 in case if you…"

"…so she came in, and was all like "lightning flowers on his chest!…"

"Okay, I can see that nobody elected a spokesperson…" Zell pressed a thumb to his lips, trying to catch it all. "So you–"

"…was all like fuck life, fuck all of you, fuck society raah!"

"…they took him, Zell. They took Seifer to some kind of research facility…"

Zell double checked Quistis' statement. His brow furrowing as he rubbed the temples and closed his eyes. "Seifer's gone where?!"

"…when she lost the baby it was like Squall just snapped…"

_You—what-uh-huh?_

"We can't even get him to answer the door – he won't come out, won't answer his phone –"

"HEY! This isn't social hour! Get away from him and let him breathe! You're not helping, Irvine!"

"Oh Zell? Psh! Zell's fine! He's been through worse!"

"Ookay, it's time to leave, let's go buh-bye now!" Zell watched as Tomé started pushing everyone out of the room. His head was throbbing. He looked over to the table by the bed, a fresh vase of flowers.

"Let us talk to him! It's an emerg –"

Zell reached for the vase, hurling it to the wall. Everyone froze, suddenly the quiet was too quiet.

"ENOUGH! I… have had enough of the pain and the loud noises. Just… shut up…" He looked around the room, pointing to each of them.

_Who is the best talker, hrmm…. too clinical, too bubbly, too ditzy…_

He stopped at Irvine and then moved to Quistis. "Quistis!

"Psh... rude." Irvine folded his arms.

"Okay! _What_ is SO important I can't even go take a piss after waking up before you all rush in here to scream at me?!" He pressed his closed fists into the bed, looking as Quistis opened her mouth. "Hm? What is SO unbelievably important? You were all talking at once I could barely understand anything that was said."

Zell blinked while Quistis began to stammer, suddenly speechless. "What?" He leaned forward, ignoring the pain.

Tomé sighed, stepping aside. "Ellone lost the baby, there was too much trauma. She's awake, resting, or would be if you three didn't come rushing in here." She glared, holding her clipboard across her chest. "Squall is placed on suspension because of Seifer. Quistis is the Interim-Commander until further notice. The Council voted to give Seifer to his father Artos Almasy or Victarion – it's hard to keep up with names I'm a doctor for Hyne's sake… anyway, Torrin or Oliver – someone left with him and they have Seifer because they say that he's cursed and are going to purge his body of the darkness. The Empy-things are covered by some story about Anti-GF factions and your assassin friend Nino is missing. Also, you're all basically heroes because you saved the Council and all that but it's some kind of big major PR stunt. Oh! Also, Squall is spiraling into a downward slope of destructive behaviors but that's just my medical opinion." She paused, tapping her fingers on the clipboard and turning around to exit. "I'll send someone in to clean up the broken vase."

Zell had been tapping his finger on the bedrest, thumb in lip. "Okay, that's is important enough. Why didn't you just say all that?" He flipped off the covers, swinging his legs over the edge. Zell's feet just barely touched the floor. He slid off, stiffly walking, pulling his IV stand along. "I've gotta piss."

He heard Selphie call after him as he approached. "Zell… did you see anything?" Her voice was small, quiet. He turned to her, confused.

"She means did you see Seifer hitting Sis?"

"I um…" Zell looked down at his naked feet. He closed his eyes, trying to think. "I remember seeing Quistis standing over the Empyral and then diving over the table. I was looking around and I found Torrin. He had this… weird smile on his face." Zell curled his lip. "I saw him with Sis and I flipped."

Zell's hand went to his chest, feeling a shock of energy as he remembered.

–

He watched as Quistis unraveled her whip, immediately going and helping Selphie as she stumbled. Zell turned his head to the table where Torrin and Ellone had been. He saw him. He was right there and Zell was ready.

Reeling his foot in the air he slammed it down hard, beating his chest and screaming. "TORRIN ALMASY!"

_That's right, fucker. You're mine._

Zell struck the metal ends of his gloves together over and over, quickly increasing his tempo, until they were glowing with heat. He was going to give him 'a different beat to dance to.' He had thought that line up as he was in the bathroom with Selphie… he snapped back, watching the glow grow brighter.

He screamed, running toward the man in the shadows until he caught the pops and crackles of electricity in Torrin's arm and hand as he stood. Panic washed over him as he remembered the bunker, in the forests, on the train, the dreams, the fears, the suicidal thoughts… "You're an Empyral…"

"Yes…" Torrin pulled off his glasses, setting them to the table and charged toward him, his smile widening into a wicked laugh. His hand went out as quick zaps of electricity popped between his fingers. "Here, let me mark you again... Maybe I should carve out your tattoo. It's a _nice_ tattoo. I _like_ it. I think I want to _keep_ it!"

Zell felt fear, his fists dropping as he felt the bolt hit his chest. He launched back, screaming, the pain burning him inside out. It was quick, but he felt his life draining out of his body from the zap. He looked up, everything a blur, drowned out. He couldn't catch his breath, feeling like the air was completely sucked out of his lungs.

"ZELL!" Zell could hear Seifer's voice like it was miles away.

"Isn't this convenient?" Torrin held his hand above Zell's face. "And no one will ever know…" The charge grew faster, brighter, brightest.

–

"Did you remember something?" Quistis touched his arm, leaning forward as Zell's eyes widened, looking at them with his mouth open.

"That… FUCKER." Zell growled. He felt his jaw tighten down on his teeth. Zell needed to hit something fast but there was nobody there. "He's infused with a GF. I remember watching the sparks and he was standing over me, ready to kill me and I watched Seifer's… black… tendril thing – it hit just as Torrin looked up and saw it coming for him. I remember watching the electricity shield his arm – he deflected it! It went right to Ellone…" Zell searched his memories, he repeated it back over and over in his head. "Oh Hyne, where's Ellone?!"

"She's resting, doesn't remember anything. We aren't allowed to see her. Laguna's orders." Selphie crossed her arms, sighing. "Wasn't Seifer going after Nino?"

"He saw me. I remember hearing him say my name, I swear!"

Quistis rubbed her forehead. "They're pinning all of this on Seifer."

"Okay, where are my clothes?" Zell looked around the room, finding nothing. "I've had enough of this shit…" He flexed his arms, his fury rising. He pushed Irvine out of the way, stepping into the hall and turning. "Well? Let's go get Squall. We're gonna go stop these guys!"

"Seifer is dead to Squall. He's hoping they execute him, slowly, he says." Irvine hooked his thumbs in the belt loops of his grey faded jeans.

"Uh, why?"

"So, like, he believes that Seifer purposely went after Ellone. He's totally buying Artos and Torrin's spin on it. About him going into this fugue state thing and going nuts."

Zell sighed, nodding. It was a busy morning. "Alright then, stay here I'm gonna go talk to Squall, man-to-man.

"Um, Zell?" Quistis blushed, keeping her eyes on his. "You should really put on some pants. You're in a hospital gown and we're seeing entirely too much."

Zell turned his head backwards, immediately closing tight the open fabric. He stumbled into a medicine cabinet, knocking over a box of bandages.

Selphie giggled, "You have the cutest little freckle on your left cheek!"

"Ahaaa–funny." He waddled behind Tomé's desk and opened a cabinet of scrubs. He changed into a pair that fit and slipped on a scrub top. After removing the IV from the pick line, he was good to go.

The Garden seemed much more vacant with the Summit gone. He counted possibly five or six people on his way to the rooms. It was unusually quiet. Had all non-essential personnel been sent home?

Zell reached Squall's quarters and knocked on the door. He glanced down at Seifer's dorm, frowning. He went to knock again but instead checked the door, watching it open. The second the door opened he got a face full of the stench of tequila and cigarettes.

"Wow, Squall…" He whispered, slipping inside the dark quarters of his High Commander. He looked around, barely able to see. He reached to turn on the light, realizing that Squall must have thrown something at the overhead. Nothing came on.

He banged his toe on the boxes by the bathroom, hearing glass clink. Empty bottles.

The sound caused Squall to stir, he was in his room.

"Jeez, man…" He felt around, trying to see in the dark. He checked in on Alisa and opened the door to her room, finding it half empty. Books, bedding, toys were gone. Zell parted his lips, confused. He heard the stir again, this time with a low moan. Zell followed the noise into Squall's bedroom, pulling back the curtain just enough to see Squall buried in his arm, face down, cuddling a bottle of tequila against his chest.

He couldn't tell if he was staring at Squall or a homeless person. He was still wearing his uniform pants from the Ball, belt undone, a pant leg had scrunched up to his knee. His shirt was halfway worn, unbuttoned, brown splotches of dried blood spattered against the dingy white. He was missing a sock, the other one likely ran away with the rest of Squall's pride. Empty bottles were tossed in the corner of the bed along with an empty pack of cigarettes. His hair was matted, tangled and covered his eyes. He looked sticky with sweat, sad and gross.

_Oh man… I've been here before. Maybe not at this level of gross but I've been here. He needs me._

"Squall." Zell tilted his head down, sitting on the bed. He heard Squall groan, his hand gripping the bottle and tucking it underneath his bare skin. He rolled his head out of his arm and let out a long sigh, falling back to sleep. He hadn't showered or shaved. His skin still wore the grime from surviving that night. His breath nearly made Zell gag. A mixture of vomit, morning breath and tequila.

_Wow._

"Hey." Zell hesitated touching him but put a hand on his shoulder, gently shaking. "Squall, buddy?"

"Mm…" Squall swallowed, his scar crinkling when he closed his eyes tighter. Zell shook him again, watching as his bloodshot eyes opened and quickly closed, sensitive to the light.

"Squall? Are you okay?"

Squall rolled over, bringing the bottle of tequila with him like a security blanket. Zell could hear the liquor slosh in the bottle. "Nuh…g'way."

Zell got up, walking into the bathroom that vainly smelled like puke and air freshener, grabbing a clean washcloth and getting it nice and cold. He walked back in, pulled off the rest of Squall's shirt and rolled him onto his back. He daubbed his face and neck with the washcloth, watching as he started to wake up a bit more.

"Come on… it's time to wake up."

"I'm…" Squall pushed the rag away, "Not sleeping…" He scratched his chest, making a face like he tasted something bitter. "I have to stay awake for Sis…"

It appeared he had only slept when he drank himself to sleep. Zell sighed, brushing the hair from his own eyes. He needed a haircut desperately. His hair when he didn't style it up resembled Squall's but shaggier and thick. "Squall, we need to talk."

"Nah... No, I'm done talking to everyone." He gagged and rolled over, fumbling for the trashcan beside his bed. Zell jumped back, handing him the trash in time for him to empty his stomach. Zell held his breath. He had a strong stomach but when the splashing and the hurling noises were going on it was hard to maintain a strong constitution.

It helped to look around the room, unable to remember when Squall ever kept a dirty room. Maybe a bit cluttered, but never filthy. He kicked at a cigarette butt on the floor from the fallen ashtray, curious when Squall picked up the disgusting habit. Squall wiped his mouth and rolled over to get his bottle of tequila. Zell snatched it, watching the dark stare Squall shot to him. "Give it back."

"No, man, look at yourself…" Zell stood, tossing the bottle in the other room on the couch. "We're gonna talk for a bit. By the way, I'm awake, my body hurts but I'm here. I should be resting, recovering but instead I'm here with you. For you, Squall – whatever you need, yeah?"

"Whatever." He rolled up in a sitting position, rubbing his face.

"...Where's Alisa?"

"Gone." Squall stood, pushing Zell out of the way as he staggered in the living room. His pants slid past his waist and he hiked them up with a shaky hand. "She's gone. Rinoa took her. Hated how I'm 'coping.'" He reached in his sink, grabbing more tequila. "Here, grieve with me." He sloppily poured Zell a drink in a glass from the same sink, pushing it across the table. Squall shook off his wet hand, wiping it on his pants. "She and fuckin' Caraway scooped Alisa up and took her back to Deling City." Squall looked at Zell, focusing his eyes. "Why do you look like a doctor?"

"Because I found out that you gave Seifer to the same men who tried to kill you."

"No, Nino Mireille tried to kill me." Squall chuckled, taking Zell's glass and shooting back the liquor. "That was her, wasn't it? The one you kept goin' on about? Yeah. I knew it deep down. I knew it when I found her in Seifer's room... Like a parasite, she was... snuck in, nearly killed me, my daughter, everyone."

"That's not how it –" Zell sighed through his nose, crossing his arms. "No, that's not correct–"

"I shoulda listened to you, Zell. I shoulda and I thought you were being obnoxious like you get sometimes." His words slurred together as he wandered his living space, finally climbing the kitchen counter, sitting in a puddle of spilled tequila.

Zell felt like he woke up in an alternate universe. Nothing made sense. "What the hell happened?"

Squall tipped back the bottle, "Well, I lost my niece, lost my daughter, I somehow kept my job but I'm on suspension ' _pending_ _review_ '…" Squall used open air quotes to illustrate. "I was attacked and instead of fighting back, I kept my head down and protected my daughter, which I lost, by the way…"

"You didn't lose your daughter, Squall. She'll come back... we may have to fumigate the apartment but she'll be back." It was more a question to himself than a reassuring response to Squall.

Squall scoffed and started to fumble in his pockets, patting them down. He reached behind him, his slender arms opening the cabinet and pulling out a pack of cigarettes. He continued to speak, cigarette in his mouth as he reached for a lighter from the drawer underneath him. "I am a disappointment to my father, which I wouldn't care about except that I went out of my way to disobey an order he gave me and I let my prisoner have free reign of Garden – _my_ Garden. _My_ home, my responsibility." He exhaled smoke. "I let him eat, sleep and fuck whatever he wanted. Once again giving him total control over the situation, let him trample all over me ALL because my asshole friends kept telling me he was a 'good person.'" He held his arms out, letting them drop on his legs. "And people wonder why I'm so uptight, so high-strung...people wonder why I tell them to go talk to walls. I'm tired of being the go-to when everyone's got an issue."

"This isn't you… not at all." Zell cocked his head to the side. Who is this person?

"Maybe this is really who I am, or at least who I'm supposed to be." Squall fumbled his cigarette, putting it back in his mouth as he blew smoke from his nose. He jumped off the counter, stumbling back to bed.

Zell grabbed the watch on the table, muttering to himself. "It's been… 42 hours?! You have degenerated to this level of gross in less than two days? Wow. Just… wow. It took me several weeks to reach this level of depravity." Zell laughed, trying to avoid hitting Squall in the back of the head.

"Here's a thought. _You_ should try being High Commander, sometime." Squall chuckled, smoke blowing out of his mouth. "Your chicken ass would probably let Garden fall apart within a week."

Zell rubbed the side of his face with a punctuated middle finger. "Appreciate that, Squall, yeah, fuck you too."

"Yep. So now that you've been filled in, allow me to return a big ' _fuck you_ ' to you too so you aren't left out." Squall flipped Zell off with both fingers. "Get out."

Zell's eyes narrowed. "No."

Squall stormed toward Zell, shoving him to the wall. "Get the fuck out, Zell!"

Zell wanted to knock him down at least eleven pegs. At least. He felt his body wanting to react, fighting back the urge to drop kick him into next week. The only thing he could do was breathe as the radiating pain from his torso ebbed away. Zell was Squall's best man at his wedding. He drove six hours to get medicine that Garden didn't have for an eleven month old. He babysat and took Alisa with him to Balamb for the festivals, he helped teach his daughter how to walk and talk. He fought and survived Ultimecia and Time Compression with him. He can survive this drunken rampage.

"Just… go… Go away, my head hurts." Squall flicked the cigarette into the sink and stumbled back to the bed, crashing face down.

Zell released his fists, slowly walking back in Squall's room. "We need Seifer."

Squall's head lifted out of the pillow, his bloodshot eyes had a dead gaze as they narrowed. "No." He plopped back in the pillow.

"Look, Squall. I know what happened to Sis. It wasn't Seifer's fault!"

Squall didn't lift his head this time, instead he fumbled for whatever was hard and painful to throw on his end table. He found a bottle and chucked it behind him, the glass clattering in the office chair and falling, missing Zell completely.

Zell sighed, shaking his head as he whispered. "Fine." He turned, stopping at the door.

" _There's a place the mind takes you, a void. It's a dark and lonely place that sucks you in and you stop being able to feel."_

Seifer's voice echoed in his mind. The cafeteria, the suicidal thoughts. Zell blinked, letting go of the door handle.

" _How did you get out?"_

Zell turned, determined to do something he really didn't want to have to resort to. He stepped inside Squall's room, pulling off the covers. "Squall?" He was already passed out cold. Already a heavy sleeper, it didn't take long for Squall to snore.

" _How did you get away from it?"_

Zell took in a deep breath, finding his calm and happy center.

" _You fight it. And if you see someone that's fighting it you step in when they have nothing left. Show them that you don't have to do it alone."_

"I'm really sorry about this." Zell grabbed Squall's wrist, flipping him out of bed. He heard the abrupt thud, Squall was still out cold. He pulled, fighting through the pain in his stomach and chest as he jerked Squall's body out of the bedroom, he was heavier than Zell would have imagined for as lean Squall was. He slid Squall's body into the bathroom and ripped back the curtain. He found Squall's sock, tossed it aside as he lifted his body into the tub, turning on the water. Cold on full blast.

Squall immediately jerked upright, gasping and thrashing. He started to stand and Zell knocked him back on his ass. "This is for your benefit, yeah? Trust me, I'm only enjoying this a little bit." Zell fought the smile creeping on his face as Squall screamed incoherent syllables and phrases under the shower head.

After taking his time counting backwards from fifty, Zell shut the water off and took a few steps back.

He watched as Squall slid back in the shower. He looked around, reaching for anything that his hands could grip as he stood again, stiffly, shakily, his legs buckling as he hugged the wall. "F-f-fuck you, f-f-ffuck you... Zell…" He slipped again, falling. Finally giving up. He pulled his scrawny legs up, his black pants shiny from the water, his hair was flush to his face, blinding him. He wrapped his arms around his head, shuddering. He threw a shampoo bottle, screaming. "What the hell did I do to deserve this!?"

Zell paused, holding his breath. "…That's a long conversation for another day. Here–" He reached for Squall's hand only to be punched in the leg. Zell was not a patient person and he finally let loose.

"I have to be the adult in this situation, Squall. You clearly can't adult, you can't even play depressed frat boy right now! Do you know what that's like for me Squall?! I'm not normally the adult in situations because _you_ are! Did you know that Quistis, Irvine and Selphie have camped out by my bed for the last two days? The second I was awake they launched right on me because I had to be the one to fix shit! As much as I love the attention and _finally_ the recognition that I am capable of acting calmly in the most dire of situations, it's hard for me. It's REALLY hard. I've got enough problems like my _own_ dark thoughts of despair and freaks like Torrin Almasy haunting me at night."

"Who?" Squall looked confused. "Who the h-hell are you t-t-talking about?"

"It's… uh, it's…right he's using an alias – Olivar Victarion? Seifer's biological brother with the creepy eyes and the weird smile? His real name is Torrin Almasy. He's the Syndicate Agent that tried to drown me–tortured me."

"That's… s-s-surprising..." Squall looked ahead, watching the drain.

"Yeah, did I forget to mention he's not only a Syndicate Superior Assassin Douchebag but he's also a psychotic, power hungry, manipulative, sadistic, mother fucking bound Empyral?"

"Emp…A what?" Squall had no knowledge of any of it, not that it would matter. It was likely Torrin had scrubbed Squall's brain before leaving. That would explain the destructive behavior to Zell, at least.

Zell let out a long winded groan, reaching in the cabinet, grabbing a towel and draping it over Squall. He ran another towel through his hair and helped pat his closest friend dry as best he could.

Once Squall seemed calm and sober enough, Zell finally helped him up. He sat him at the table, rushing in and opening the windows in his bedroom to clear out the smell of desperation. He found a clean outfit and got him dressed. Made him coffee, served him a fresh cup and even poured some for himself. He hated the bitter taste, but he needed it to focus.

"Here's everything we know..."


End file.
